03.27.07
Posted in Applications, Multimedia, Services at 11:58 pm by Jonathan Greene
As noted earlier today, the Rhapsody application has been officially released. I’ve been using for much of the day and I’ve been very impressed with how it works so far.
Some background… Rhapsody is Real’s subscription music service. It allows you to have unlimited listening access to their library of 3 million songs with a low monthly fee ($9.95 - $14.95). While this has traditionally been a Windows only thing, you can do most of what you can do from Windows directly on your tablet which is quite handy. I believe this is actually the first portable version of the Rhapsody service which works this way.
Clicking on the artist name lets you view deeper info and explore on the web…
When you download the application, you’ll probably note similarities to the MediaStreamer application if you’ve used it. The main difference here, branding aside, is that you can connect directly to the Rhapsody service and listen online. Of course you need to setup an account, which is free for the first 30 days and you’ll be prompted to either sign-up or sign-in when you start up for the first time. If you decide to continue it will run $9.95/mo for the Rhapsody unlimited service. Windows users can also open the client on their desktops and actually download the tunes for offline access. Currently the N800 is not a supported portable player, though for some reason the Nokia 3300 “Taco” phone is…
Here’s a video run-through of what to expect:
I am very happy with this new application! While it’s nice to stream music from online radio stations, Rhapsody puts you in control of both freeform as well as programmed music — all in the palm of your hand! It’s easy to search for tracks or simply surf the library. I love that my playlists stay active between sessions and that adding tunes to MyLibrary is instantaneous, whether from the desktop or tablet.
The only real bug I can note for now is that you can’t actually login on the web via the Tablet’s browser as Rhapsody does not support this version of Opera. I have to think this was an oversight in the release process and hope it will get fixed quickly. It’s not critical to login to use things, but it would be nice to use your account outside of the player.
I do wish it was possible to sync/download tunes to your media cards, but there’s always the next release…
Technorati Tags: Internet Tablet, Maemo, Music, N-Series, N770, N800, Nokia, Rhapsody
Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Permalink
[…] exposure to music subscription services, but that has officially changed thanks to the release of Rhapsody for the Nokia N800! In short, it rocks — a killer app for the […]
[…] a look at what to expect, have a read through the information and let him know your thoughts or perhaps ask a question. With 3 million songs available for streaming at a low price, lots of people are expecting a great […]
You can also run Rhapsody on your Mac too, right? I have Yahoo! Music that I use on my Windows Mobile and Nseries devices, but the only way to run it on my Mac is through Parallels or Boot Camp. I am getting a Nokia N800 to evaluate soon and am considering a switch to Rhapsody. Have you tried it on your Mac? How about on other Nseries devices? Thanks.
As I understand it you can only stream from the mac - there’s no download which will pull down the actual tracks. It works fine in Firefox and installs as an extension.
I’ve tried it in Windows via Parallels and it works, but sound is very jittery and not something I’d recommend. I’ve got 768MB of RAM assigned… not sure that’s the issue or whether virtualized Windows multimedia is the issue in general.
As mentioned in the post, the only Nokia that shows up as a portable client is the 3300 phone.. kinda weird, but that’s it for now.
Real just released a Rhapsody client for the N800 Internet Tablet from Nokia. I’ve played with it a little and the sound quality is great. The UI is also fast and comfortable. For additional positive comments, check out Jonathan Greene’s take
connection allowed me to stream music, but there was about a five second buffering time between tracks. This means it does not pre-buffer the upcoming track: Only the currently playing one. I was going to write a full review with a video tonight, but maemoapps.com beat me to it! They even included a video! Here’s my mini-evaluation: Pro: Smooth, intuitive interface. Large, on-demand music selection.One subscription for your tablet, PC, or laptop.Remembers playlists.Takes little internal storage on the N800.
[…] Highlighting great applications and services for the Maemo platform « Rhapsody Rocks the N800 | […]
[…] track: Only the currently playing one.I was going to write a full review with a video tonight, but maemoapps.com beat me to it! They even included a video! Here’s my mini-evaluation:Pro:Smooth, intuitive interface.Large, […]
[…] network. My goal would be to basically use the N800 as a remote from anywhere in my house and let http://www.maemoapps.com/2007/03/27/rhapsody-rocks-the-n800/ Roku handle the rest. In theory this will work, but I can’t find anyone else who’s reporting […]
[…] Rhapsody Rocks the N800 article details » www.maemoapps.com Posted 3 days ago by Jonathan Greene feed details » […]
question re: Rhapsody and N800
if you have the free Rhapsody account on PC, and the N800 30 day acct expires, could you theoretically just log in with you user name and password from the free Rhapsody PC account and use the more limited service?
on the N800, of course….sorry for this addition
You can use the same account on both — even at the same time.
[…] network. My goal would be to basically use the N800 as a remote from anywhere in my house and let http://www.maemoapps.com/2007/03/27/…ocks-the-n800/ SB handle the rest. From what I’ve read here I could use the Web Browser on the N800 to control […]
[…] 3. Rhapsody. That’s it. I’ve NEVER had even the slightest interest in any of the subscription-music services. I have over 4,800 MP3s on my PC, and would rather just stream those. However, Rhapsody is COOL. And only $15 a month. They have pre-made playlists that you can load up with 2 clicks and be jamming out to totally new music. I love it. Seriously. I’d make a video of it, but Jonathan Greene already did, so go watch his. […]
We will begin this tumblelog GadgetPornAddict appropriately lusting over a Nokia Tablet N800 courtesy this dude
courtesy this dude
[…] Rhapsody Rocks the N800 Maemoapps: 3/27/07 […]
[…] ideally mates with the Zonbu philosophy of network connected computing. Convince Real Networks to port the application developed for the Nokia N800 to the Zonbu and you have a compelling value proposition for any music lover. I’d buy one […]
[…] ideally mates with the Zonbu philosophy of network connected computing. Convince Real Networks to port the application developed for the Nokia N800 to the Zonbu and you have a compelling value proposition for any music lover. I’d buy one just for […]
[…] network. My goal would be to basically use the N800 as a remote from anywhere in my house and let http://www.maemoapps.com/2007/03/27/rhapsody-rocks-the-n800/ SB handle the rest. >From what I’ve read here I could use the Web Browser on the N800 to control […]
[…] 3. Rhapsody. That’s it. I’ve NEVER had even the slightest interest in any of the subscription-music services. I have over 4,800 MP3s on my PC, and would rather just stream those. However, Rhapsody is COOL. And only $15 a month. They have pre-made playlists that you can load up with 2 clicks and be jamming out to totally new music. I love it. Seriously. I’d make a video of it, but Jonathan Greene already did, so go watch his. […]
[…] 3. Rhapsody. That’s it. I’ve NEVER had even the slightest interest in any of the subscription-music services. I have over 4,800 MP3s on my PC, and would rather just stream those. However, Rhapsody is COOL. And only $15 a month. They have pre-made playlists that you can load up with 2 clicks and be jamming out to totally new music. I love it. Seriously. I’d make a video of it, but Jonathan Greene already did, so go watch his. […]
[…] my initial post on Rhapsody I concluded that local storage would complete the experience and I still feel that way today. […]
[…] my initial post on Rhapsody I concluded that local storage would complete the experience and I still feel that way today. […]
[…] so order now! Sponsored by: lowpricedip.com/Nokia_N800/ [Found on Ads by Google] 10. Featured Maemo Apps » Rhapsody Rocks the N800 I am getting a Nokia N800 to evaluate soon and am considering a switch to Rhapsody … Featured […]
Anyone else have this issue: When navigating around the Rhapsody application, every so often, the application just shuts down and disappears (crashes I guess you would say).
Thanks
are you running the latest version of both the app and the firmware for the device?
This is a very nice app, but is still needs a few more options. It needs an off line non-streaming mode(Rhapsody ToGo) and an option to play indefinitely (limited to 100 minutes). A mentioned, it does seem to crash occasionally.
